With big-name comedy acts ranging from Mike Epps to Jeff Foxworthy, Chicago has you covered this winter: Janeane Garofalo: Look back on the television shows from the '90s that are most rever…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:33PMSaturday night at UIC Pavilion, comedian Amy Schumer, the first female comic to headline Madison Square Garden (which she played twice this year) and the first female comic to make Forbes' H…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:52AMComedian Jerrod Carmichael — whose critically lauded NBC sitcom "The Carmichael Show" will enter its third season next year — does not care if his audience is comfortable. In fact, he ac…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:48PMIf you haven't heard of Aparna Nancherla, now is a good time to become familiar with the name. The 33-year-old has been working the comedy scene for over a decade, but if her sold-out Lincol…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:45PMComedian Rebecca O'Neal is ready to graduate. Not from high school or college, but from Chicago comedy. To be clear, it's not because she doesn't love the city and its comedy community — t…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AMThe fall stand-up comedy season begins in a hurry in the Chicago area. Hannibal Buress Each time hometown hero Hannibal Buress returns to Chicago to perform, he comes with a resume that's gr…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AMT.J. Miller clearly loves being onstage. He loves it so much that on Friday night, about two hours and 15 minutes into the Chicago leg of his Meticulously Ridiculous Tour, someone backstage …
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:26AMWhat does a psychiatrist do when you tell him that you’re a comedian while checking yourself into a psych ward for suicidal thoughts? Google your name to make sure you’re not delusional.…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:45PMComedian Nick Vatterott is fed up with the genrefication and labeling of various comedy forms. "Labels really do a disservice to comedy," he says via email after a canceled flight left him s…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:04AM"I love places where it sucks in the winter," comedian Joe Rogan boomed excitedly by way of introduction as he took the stage Friday night at the Civic Opera House in a white shirt and jeans…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:54AMMost concertgoers are familiar with musical headliners being preceded by opening acts — bands that get the crowd warmed up with a set before the main performers go on. Perhaps less well kn…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 02:57PMFor a man who made a point of highlighting his aging and detailing how his body isn't faring particularly well in the transition, comedian Martin Lawrence — who rose to stardom in the earl…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:55PMHow do you kick off your summer when your day (or "Night") job is on a break until the fall? If you're Colin Jost — co-anchor for "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live" — you stop by …
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:29AMWith the stand-up specials he's already put out, the late-night shows he's written for and the Emmy-winning TV show "Louie" that he writes, directs, edits, executive produces and stars in, i…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:59AMCall me a pessimist, but based on the trailer (and Adam Sandler's track record), the new Netflix-produced film "The Do-Over" (starring Sandler and David Spade) looks likely to be bad. I mean…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:03AMSeveral years ago I saw Jeff Garlin perform a stand-up set (at Steppenwolf, of all places). While meandering serenely across the stage Garlin pointedly remarked, "I'm the world's most comfor…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:30AMSearching for Iliza Shlesinger in Netflix right now will result in three titles. Two of them (2013’s “War Paint” and 2015’s “Freezing Hot”) are available to stream at the moment,…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:42AM“I’ve kept ya’ll long enough,” Wanda Sykes languidly remarked in her uniquely identifiable speech pattern towards the end of her 90-minute set at the Chicago Theatre Saturday night. …
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:38PM“I’ve kept ya’ll long enough,” Wanda Sykes languidly remarked in her uniquely identifiable speech pattern towards the end of her 90-minute set at the Chicago Theatre Saturday night. …
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:27PMIs there a young comedian out there (aside from Aziz Ansari, maybe) who has less to prove at the moment than Trevor Noah? Well, on stage at least. After taking over Comedy Central’s vene…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 04:39PMIs there a young comedian out there (aside from Aziz Ansari, maybe) who has less to prove at the moment than Trevor Noah? Well, on stage at least. After taking over Comedy Central’s venera…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:40PMThis I promise: Until Friday, when they will have left town, you will not find two comedians having a better time on a Chicago stage than Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland: two frumpy, dump…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:43PM"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be to see this year out," John Oliver started earnestly, before he gave the audience his mischievously amicable grin. "Not physically, obviously." No, …
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:50PM"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be to see this year out," John Oliver started earnestly, before he gave the audience his mischievously amicable grin. "Not physically, obviously." No, t…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:43PMStarting with Sketchfest 2016 and looking ahead to May, here are our comedy recommendations for the new year. Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival: Holding tight to its title of world's largest s…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 03:20PMStarting with Sketchfest 2016 and looking ahead to May, here are our comedy recommendations for the new year. Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival: Holding tight to its title of world's largest sk…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:31PMRECOMMENDED By the time the titular déjà vu kicks in during the second act of this fast-paced revue (Second City’s 104th on the mainstage), the audience is already so heavily invested in…
SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 05:45PMPulling sketch material from various past revues, this mash-up succeeds in bringing, as the introductory voiceover promises “speed, volume and hilarity” to weekend matinees and Tuesday n…
SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 05:00PMRECOMMENDED Several years ago I saw a play written by Brett Neveu called “The Earl.” In it a group of siblings beat each other up in a warehouse while citing a set of intricate rules for…
SOURCE: www.newcitystage.com at 05:50PMIn the crowded and competitive world of Chicago comedy, improvisational teams constantly come and go. Groups can be hot one week, performing a recurring show in a well-known comedy venue, an…
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:07PM